Are we at War?

[Pick187]

On Dec. 21, 2001, Cst. Dennis Strongquill and his partner Cst. Brian Auger were on patrol near Russell Manitoba. They observed a pickup truck coming towards them which failed to dim it's high beams and tuned around to stop the vehicle. Unbeknownst to the members, the pickup was stolen and operated by Danny Sand with his brother Robert Sand and Robert's girlfriend, Laurie Bell as passengers. The trio had been on a crime spree of B&E, robbery and auto theft across Alberta and Sask.

Upon pulling over the vehicle and before the members could get out, the passenger, Robert Sand, jumped out and opened fire on the police vehicle with a sawed off 12 gauge shotgun (one of 11 rifles and shotguns the suspects had in their vehicle).

Upon taking the fire, the members tactically repositioned by reversing the police car out of the kill zone. Unexpectedly, the suspects began chasing the police vehicle. The suspects chased them into the town of Russell, ramming the police car as they were attempting to pull into the parking lot of Russell Det. Robert Sand jumped out of the stolen pickup and fired multiple rounds from the 12 gauge shotgun into Cst Strongquill's side of the car. Cst. Strongquill subsequently died from multiple gunshot wounds. Cst. Auger returned fire causing the suspects to disengage, fleeing the scene. A massive manhunt ensued with more shots being fired at members.

The incident ended in Sask where the suspects were located in a motel. Danny Sand was shot and killed by 'F' Div ERT when, armed with a rifle, he climbed onto the roof of the motel and was about to fire at other members. Robert Sand and Laurie Bell were arrested.

The following is an excerpt of Sand's jailhouse journal. It gives an interesting insight into the mind of a cop killer and his attitude towards the police and the killing of a police officer. It was only a matter of chance that the incident occurred in Manitoba as Sand's original plan was to go to British Columbia.

This incident is also a graphic reminder that a deadly incident can come to us at any time and without warning.

Excerpt;

I had a rather odd....realization today. I was in one of my moods. So I asked to see the pictures again of my case. There are pic's of trucks burnt, crashed shot up etc. Homes broken into, property of ours and others. And of course pics of the dead cop, shot up cop car and Dan.



Now I've seen them before and without emotion, I've no more tears to shed. But I was looking at this man, on a table. And he had several shot gun wounds, to the side, back, chest etc. And I started to think, he's just a man, and shouldn't be dead. He had a family and friends, and now he is a body on a table. I realized it's not the man I'd hated, but the uniform he wore. His flag, colors of war. But seeing him without his uniform...I felt bad for the loss of his life.





But then I flipped to the pics of Dan, and my thoughts changed again. Cus now I felt that the other man is right where he should be. And losses on both sides are always expected; only Dan took my place. And when I looked upon the cop car I felt pride, and remembered the battle. I remembered how these enemy soldiers fled in fear and cowardness. I saw how much damage I'd caused to their unit and smiled, from the knowledge that the enemy isn't as strong as they want us to believe. But they should beware. That the moment they fly there flag, wear there uniform. That they are at war and people die in war, everyone has their enemies.

[Pick187]

Constable Dennis Strongquill
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Federal
End of Watch: Friday, December 21, 2001

Biographical Info
Age: 52
Badge Number: 40120

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Friday, December 21, 2001
Incident Location: Manitoba
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: 1 killed, 2 convicted

Constable Dennis Stronguill was born June 12th, 1949 at Fort Qu'appelle, Saskatchewan with his formative years spent growing up in Barrows, Manitoba. He joined the RCMP as a Special Constable April 14th, 1981, at Dauphin, Manitoba. Following training he was posted to Churchill, Powerview First Nation, 1988 Olympics, then back to Powerview First Nation. He converted to Constable status February 28th, 1989, continuing to serve at Powerview Detachment until he transferred to Amaranth, Manitoba July 11th, 1998, and then to his current posting at the time of his tragic death at Waywayseecappo January 18th, 2001.

The subsequent 14-hour manhunt ended in gunfire as the Mounties' emergency response team shot and killed one of the three suspects at a Wolseley, Sask. hotel at 2:40 p.m. Friday. RCMP spokesperson said the gun battle broke out as the suspects tried to flee the hotel. A suspect was shot as RCMP officers returned fire. He was pronounced dead later at hospital. The two others, a man and a woman surrendered to police and were arrested. All three of the suspects were from Alberta, police said.

RCMP sources said that the three suspects were from the Edmonton area and were the subject of a Canada-wide warrant issued last week in Alberta. Constable Strongquill approached the three suspects in a truck because they matched the description of the armed robbery suspects, the sources said. The suspects shot at the police car, chased it into the town of Russell, and rammed it in front of the detachment office. Constable Strongquill was killed as he was trapped in the vehicle after suspects rammed the police vehicle. He never had a chance to exit the vehicle, and was unable to return fire due to a pistol malfunction. The RCMP officer was the senior constable of a new detachment on the Waywayseecapo First Nations near Russell.

After the shooting in Russell, the suspects fled into Saskatchewan. The town of Russell is 340 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg and about 15 kilometres from the Saskatchewan boundary. RCMP officers were also shot at in Langenburg, Sask. in the early morning hours of Friday morning but nobody was hit in that incident. By Friday afternoon, RCMP from three provinces were scouring Saskatchewan's Qu'Appelle Valley. RCMP said they believed the suspects were carrying either rifles or shotguns.

The suspects are believed to have stolen and then ditched as many as five vehicles, including a grey 1996 Dodge truck in Esterhazy, Sask. In that incident, the owner pursued the suspects in a second vehicle, calling RCMP on a cell phone. The owner was shot at but not hurt. At one point, the suspects fled to a farmyard just north of Langenburg, Sask. where they stole a pickup truck from a farmyard. The owner said he was awakened about 2:30 a.m. by a vehicle pulling into his yard. Moments later, he heard a shot and his wife spotted someone driving off in his truck. Police had set up a nearby roadblock where the owner went to report the theft. As he approached the roadblock he was met at gunpoint by officers who ordered him from his vehicle and searched him for weapons before he could explain. After the search, he was told to go home and lock the doors.

The first vehicle the suspects had allegedly stolen had Alberta licence plates, and was found burned and abandoned nearby, he added. Back in his farmyard, The owner said he found items the suspects dropped while switching vehicles. They included a knife, a shotgun shell, binoculars, balaclavas, a tuque and a flashlight. Another pickup truck was stolen near Broadview, Sask., about 150 kilometres east of Regina. A third vehicle was later stolen from the same area.

On June 13, 2003, the killer, a male, was convicted of first-degree murder and received 25 years in prison. A female accomplice received 7 years for manslaughter.

Constable Stronguill is survived by his wife and three children.

[justken2u]

Interesting question .. I had actually written an article back in October 2008 for Law Officer Magazine which I don't think they chose to publish. It included the situation that Pick tells us about in the preceding post. Tragic.

LOMAG They stated that they were changing their editorial focus, but I think it is possible that my writing was becoming a little uncomfortable for them. Officers getting killed by lunatics is uncomfortable to me, and if I have to write articles that might ruffle some feathers, well, so mote it be!

Attached is the article which I don't believe saw the printed form.

Stay safe.

Ken

[Pick187]

That was an excellent read, thank you!

[justken2u]

Thanks for all your excellent posts and commentary!